Cahya Mata clears air on cement shortage

KUALA LUMPUR: Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd has refuted claims that it
is responsible for project delays as well as contributing to a surge in
house prices.

Cahya Mata's unit CMS Cement said it does not
intend to monopolise the market and it is not the reason for supply
problems of cement to the local market.

Cahya Mata managing
director Datuk Richard Curtis said there had been an unscheduled
four-day shutdown of its Bintulu plant in November due to an unforeseen
technical problem.

The bad weather in Sabah and Sarawak has
continued to serioulsy disrupt loading and unloading of bagged cement to
be delivered by barge to Sibu from CMS Cement's Kuching plant,
otherwise, the supply would have been able to compensate for the
production shortfall of the Bintulu plant.





"As the Sarawak's sole manufacturer of cement, we are trying our best
to overcome these challenges. Despite the continously bad weather, we
are confident that the aggregate monthly demand for cement in Sibu will
be met," Curtis said in a statement on Tuesday.